Oussema Settala nach THE VENTURE - Ein Interview

Please describe the business idea in a nutshell!

thevank is a virtual banking solutions provider. To be precise we provide digital currency solutions for partner banks. For this purpose we rely on the latest Fintech innovations, and provide solutions to promote financial inclusion. Let´s say our partner is a retail bank in Tunisia. They do not have enough territory coverage and/or potential customers are not "bankable". Thanks to crypto currency capabilities we can provide our partners the technology, so they can offer existent and potential new customers mobile currency or online banking services. No credit card or bank account required.

What have happened since then?

We have made a pivot since THE VENTURE program. Now we work on distributed ledgers. Furthermore, we changed the name to Vink – Virtual banking solutions www.vink-io.com.

How did you get to know THE VENTURE and what was crucial for your application?

I got to know by word of mouth from a Jury member. He has introduced the program to me, and I liked the idea behind it. We found the relevant patent for our business line - fintech - so we participated.
The partnership with kesh was highly important to us. With kesh Mobile Payment Platform and API, we saw a way to pursue our vision.

How would you describe yourself best and the rest of your team? To what extent do you complement each other?

I would say stubborn. I think this is quite fundamental when it comes to starting up a business. The necessary condition is doing your homework before speaking.
My CTO is a genius. He is the first African (Tunisian) technical guy to work on a blockchain solution for profit. The team overall was handpicked to meet the industry requirements. Vink is a team effort, and without this team, the effort would be vain.

Had you have planned the company foundation before? Or did you just capture the opportunity?

We’ve already had plans to start our own business. Therefore, we studied the market, and later we dived into the technology. We saw opportunities in both. Especially with the patent from THE VENTURE.

What are your future plans? Outlook?

That it is a secret but it will be a first.

What did you like best when participating in the contest?

The mentorship was extremely precious for us. Mr Bümsen is still a valuable asset in our pitch. We will have news soon, so the network will hear of us. If this sounds pretentious, it is not the purpose. We want to make them profit from our expertise as much as we profit from them.